In Transit
by BellyLovinGirl
Summary: Ignore this, they are just in transit so I can fix them at a computer that has the right program.
1. NBS Chapter 1

Chapter 1 "Missing" "Angel?" Willow took in his battered and barely covered body. Fear registering on her face, she stepped back. "Have you seen Buffy?" "No. I thought you were her." How could they be having a conversation like nothing was wrong. Like the world hadn't just turned over and spit him out. "Are you....back to normal?" Hope lighted in her eyes. "In a matter of ways. I need to see Buffy. Where is she?" Relief flooded into her body as she noticable relaxed. "I...I don't know. I came here looking for her. Joyce said that she had cleaned out her closet." "She left? But where to? Why?" "I was hoping she might have come here." Tears that she could hold back no longer shone in Willow's eyes. "I..I don't know where else she might have gone. Everybody is out looking for her." "Well, I think she's already been here." He said, holding out his open hand. The silver ring lay in his palm. The only witness as to where the slayer might have gone. ************* Willow led the way towards Buffy's house, Angel trailing behind trying to keep his battered body moving. The scene at the factory replaying over and over in his head. Luckily he was no longer dressed in the dusty old sheet, thanks to a brief trip to his apartment. Where they had found more clues left by Buffy. Giles, Joyce, and Oz were waiting for Willow at Buffy's house. The all looked expectantly towards Willow as she stepped in the door. "Did you find anything?" Giles asked hopefully. "No and yes." She said turning back towards the open door, where Angel waited, unable to enter. Giles pulled Willow away from the door, and reached for a stake all in one movement. His stance ready to strike at the slightest need. "No Giles, he's alright. He's back on our side." Willow stepped in front of Giles to get between Angel and the stake. "I think he can help." "You sure?" Giles didn't seem too convinced. "Yes, now would you put that down. He can't even get in, remember?" Willow gives an exasperated sigh, as Giles finally lowers the stake. "Good, now back to business. Where's Xander?" "He's still checking out some places. You sure he can't get in?" Joyce said glaring at the figure standing in the doorway. "Wh-where did you find him?" Giles British accent more pronounced in worry. "The old mansion, but he doesn't seem to remember how he got there." "Oh I see." "Did you find anything that might help us find Buffy." Joyce said trying to steer the conversation back on subject. Angel, who had been silent up to this moment spoke, "I found this at the mansion." Holding out the ring for all to see. "What's that?" Oz leaned over Joyces shoulder, afraid to move any closer to the sinister looking vampire. "It's a Klada ring." Gile lifted it to his face and squinted at it. "But how do you know Buffy left it?" "Because it was my Birthday present to her." Angel didn't let any emotions show on his face, but his eyes betrayed the grief he felt. "Oh I see. We-well then she must have stopped there on her way out of town." Giles seemed to shrink with the realization. "It's not the only stop she made..."Willow's words were cut off by Angel. "She stopped by at my apartment too." "How do you know it was recently, I mean *you* haven't been there in a while." Oz's tone gave away his obvious dislike of the vampire. Angel just gave him a weary look and pointed to his nose. "Oh, she was there. Tonight." "Did she take anything? Something that might tell us where she went?" Giles asked hopefully. "No." "Oh, I guess we'll just have to wait till Xander and Cordellia get here. And hope they found something." Resigned Giles sat back on the sofa next to Buffy's mother to comfort her. Willow and Angel exchange a look before she turns back to the rest of the group. Coughing discretely in the direction of Giles. "Yes?"  Willow thought, glaring at him for moment, while he looked blankly back at her. Pointing with her head back towards the vampire leaning painfully on the door frame. Angel had a look of pained patience on his face. "Oh yes...well, uh Joyce." "Are you sure he's OK to let in?" Doubt in her tone. Her arms were crossed over herself, as had become habit whenever she worried about Buffy. "Yah," Willow nodded. "Alright, you can come in." Angel started to step into the room, but after the beating his body had not yet recovered from, he staggered foward nearly falling into Willow as she reached to help him stand. No one moved towards them as she manuevered him towards the nearest chair, bending deeply under his weight. "Is he OK?" Joyces motherly instincts pushed caution aside as she looked towards the grimacing vampire. "I'll be alright soon." He said doubling over in the overstuffed arm chair. Turning to Willow Giles asked. "Where did he come from, and how did he get like this?" Motioning towards the still grimacing vampire. "I don't know, but where ever it was, it was bad. If he hasn't healed from this yet, it would have to be. He was pretty torn up when I found him in the mansion. Not to mention...well"  She lipped to him. "Oh, well the spell did say he would be sent to hell. And I can only assume how that would be." "That still doesn't explain how he got *back*." Oz eyed Angel, now recovered of his composer. "I don't know how I got back, all I know is I woke up in the mansion. Before that...." The vampire's eyes glazed over with fear. Very little put fear into Angelus, the five century old vampire. At that moment the door opened, and Xander walked into the house, Cordillia trailing after. "Find anything?" Giles asked, pouncing on the distraction the two new members of the group added. "No." Both looked down about their news. "Well it looks like she..." Giles was cut off by Xander. "Wooho, where'd he come from?" Xander was quickly retreating from the armchair in which Angel sat. "And why did you let him in. Remember he tried to kill me, and Willow, and Joyce, and need I continue?" "He's OK Xander. The spell worked." Willow's smile beeming with accomplishment. "You sure he's not going to bite?" Cordillia asked, "Cuz if he is I'm going back to my car." "You wouldn't make it to your car." Oz pointed out. "Oh well then, I guess it's a good thing he's on our side." She eyed the reclining vamp again. "He is on our side isn't he?" Joyce who had remained silent until this moment shouted to the rest of the group. "Yes, for the last time he's on our side. Now can we get to what's important? Buffy is missing, and we have to find her before something happens to her." Slumping to the couch in tears, she sobbed into Giles arms. "Or Buffy happens to something. This is the slayer we are talking about." Xander looked about the room at the worry filled faces. "She is the slayer." He offered in defense of his statement.


	2. NBS Chapter 2

Chapter 2 "New Town, New Problems" "Here it is. Bed, sink, kitchenette. The toilet doesn't work, so you'll have to use the public one for the floor. At the end of the hall. There's a 24 hour laundromat 4 blocks down. So what do you think?" The homely little woman asked. Looking blandly at her as she rounded the tiny room. Testing the bed, looking into the tiny closet with the bare lightbulb in it. At least it was clean, which was more than she could say about any of the other places she'd been to that day. "I'll take it." Buffy said, feeling vaugely like she was signing away her soul. "First and last months rent up front." Mrs. Brimlin, as she had introduced herself earlier, held an aged round little hand out. Counting out bills from the money she had "borrowed" from her mothers burrow, thoughts of home assailed her. What would Willow be doing right now? Giles? He mother? Would they be looking for her? "I'll bring the paperwork up for you to sign later." Mrs. Brimlin paused at the door. "Are you alright? You look a bit peeked." Shaking away the reveries and regrets, it was too late for that, she thought, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "No, I'm fine. Uh, do you know any place around here that might be hiring?" "One of the girls said the diner she works in is looking for another waitress. It's walking distance from here, plenty of the guests eat there." "Could you give me directions?" "Just go down Market for 2 blocks, turn right on 8th and it's right there. Can't miss that big pink sign." Buffy could see concern in her eyes, but she didn't know whether it was for her, or the possiblity of an unpaying tenant should she not find a job. "Thanks. Well I guess that's it then." "Sure hon. You can pick up the keys at the front desk when you come down." She closed the door behind her. Looking around the room again Buffy plopped down on the bed next to her suitcase.  she thought dispassionately.  as the rooms temperature dropped several degrees. Shivering despite her usual resistance to the cold, she continued to stare at the room that would hold her future, at least for now. *********** "The Pink Caboose," read the big pink flourecent sign hung over the restaurant. It had a very false front in the shape of a pink rail-way caboose. Sure enough there was help wanted sign in the front window. Buffy opened the door and the smell of greesy burgers, cigarette smoke, and coffee asailed her. A sudden wave of nausea hit her with full-force. Could she do this? Killing vampires sure, but juggling 5 plates at once, while in a poodle skirt? The owner was behind the register, a fairly greesy looking balding man in his late 50's. He was nursing a cigarette while ringing up a bill. She gulped in a breath before diving into the halo of smoke surrounding the man. "Hello, I saw the sign in the window." Her voice was surprisingly even. "Yah? Well I don't suppose you have any exprience at waitressing?" He eyed her uninthusiaticly. "No but I'm willing to learn." Oh god, she had to get this job. "It's minimum wage 6 days a week, Tuesdays are off. And you have to buy your own uniform." "Sounds good to me, when would you like me to start?" Nausea hit again as he blew a puff of smoke into her face. "Hey, if you want, you can start tonight. You could borrow one of the other girls extra uniforms." She looked around at the crowded diner and sighed. What was she getting into? "I'll do it." "Fine your hired." He turned away and called acrossed the diner to a waitress busily filling coffee cups. "Hey Cindy, come here." Cindy, a bleeched blond with heavy mascara quickly covered the ground between them, dodging tables and customers with a practiced ease. "Yah?" She ignore Buffy and looked impatiently at the owner. "This is the new waitress....." He waited for her to fill in with her name. "Buffy." "She'll be filling in for Naome tonight. Could you lend her your extra uniform until she gets her own." "Sure." Cindy turned to look at Buffy for the first time. Her face softening into a smile when she saw the unease in the younger girls face. "Come on, we'll get you all fixed up. Stick by me kid, and I'll show ya the ropes." She continued to talk companionably at Buffy as she led her into the back of the the diner. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. ********* "Hey lookin good Buff. You look like waitress now." Buffy looked in the mirror at the waitresses uniform.  Though that wasn't saying much, she felt like she was wearing a potato sack. _ "I'll get my own as soon as I can." "Oh don't worry about it, they take 3 weeks to arrive anyway. You can use mine until then." Cindy gave her a encouraging smile. "Thanks." She looked back at the image in front of her, and wrinkled her nose at the unflattering get-up. "Ah Kid, you'll get used to it." "Now what?" "Now you learn to be waitress. Hears an order pad. Just write down what they order, then pull off the white sheet and stick it here." Cindy had led her back into the diner and pointed to a contraption looking vaguely like a chandileer decked with clips and order slips. "Chuck'll take them off and make the food. When it's done, just take it out the table. Got it?" "I think so." She hoped that she didn't look as confused as she was. "It's OK Kid I'll help you out till you get it. Just watch me and then I'll let you take the next table." "Ok." ___


End file.
